Formula one boss Bernie Ecclestone has said that the Bahrain Grand Prix could be rescheduled as the season-opening race in place of Melbourne. He also said he was ''talking to quite a few countries'' about being added to the calendar, including Thailand, Mexico and Turkey.


Asked about the prospects of switching Bahrain from its position as fourth race of the season to the curtain-raiser, he said he was looking at the proposal. That could lead to teams using Bahrain for pre-season testing and staying on.


''We could do, I suppose, couldn't we?'' said Ecclestone. ''We changed because Australia had been around a long time and … wanted it. We would need to have a look at it.''


AFP